Truck tonnage highest in 5 years

Tonnage has surged more than 2 percent every month since November and gained a total of 9.1 percent over that period. In January, the SA index equaled 125.2, compared to 121.7 in December, which puts the index at its highest point on record.

“The trucking industry started 2013 with a bang, reflected in the best January tonnage report in five years,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello says. “While I believe that the overall economy will be sluggish in the first quarter, trucking likely benefited in January from an inventory destocking that transpired late last year, thus boosting volumes more than normal early this year as businesses replenish those lean inventories.”